


Unexpected Connections

by kuro1neko2kun



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Isabelle is a BAMF, M/M, fill for shadowhunters ficathon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 01:41:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6218623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro1neko2kun/pseuds/kuro1neko2kun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She's never had a best friend before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected Connections

**Author's Note:**

> Fill for [Shadowhunters Ficathon](http://ladygawain.livejournal.com/83265.html?page=6)

Isabelle Lightwood lives in a world full of boys. Her brothers, her father, most of the Shadowhunters at the institute. Most of the time, she's okay with it. She can deal with their macho posturing, their inability to properly convey emotions, their distaste at anything remotely girly. She's confident in herself, she's not afraid to show it. Her mother taught her to be strong, her father told her no one could hurt her if she didn't let them. 

She has girl friends. Aline, now Clary, maybe even Lydia. But sometimes it's hard to relate. She rarely sees Aline, and Clary's upbringing was so different from her own. Lydia… well. Things are still a little tense.

She's had lovers. Meliorn is the latest in line, but he's among her favourites. Kind and gentle, _experienced_. But he's not her friend, not really.

She's never had a _best_ friend. Not someone who she can really connect with. She's fine with that. She has her family, her friends. She doesn't need a best friend. She can get by.

-

Magnus started out as a flirty stranger, someone who'd look good with Alec. He was fun, and open, and had _experience_ that her brother sorely lacked. She'd given him Alec's number, that night after they summoned a demon, told him to call. 

Isabelle was almost surprised to find herself liking Magnus more and more. As much as she teased Alec, Magnus was a genuinely nice person to be around, and he always had something interesting to say. When they'd done the autopsy of the forsaken, he'd managed to make her smile despite the seriousness of the situation.

He'd even given her makeup tips once (glitter may be more his thing than hers, but she now knows how to get it off of practically anything). 

When Alec announced his engagement, she found herself upset not only about his acquiescence to their parents' demands, but also on Magnus's behalf. She knew they'd talked when he'd been in the Institute, and she wondered if Alec really understood what he'd done to the warlock. So she'd turned her back on him to hide the frustration, done her best to clean up his mess.

Jace's stupid idea notwithstanding, working with Magnus to borrow Alec's stele had been… fun. Magnus was clearly good at more than just flirting and fun, and Isabelle found herself wondering if maybe, just maybe, she had more in common with him than just her brother.

-

It's months later, as Magnus is painting her nails in all the colours of the rainbow, that she realizes that he's her best friend. It's not a sudden epiphany, or even a jolt of realization. She just watches the smooth strokes of the brush and thinks to herself _'Oh._

She tells him and he laughs, capping the purple nail polish with flair.

"Well of course, darling. We have so much in common." 

He snaps his fingers and her nails dry, sparkling in the low lighting of his apartment.

Alec peers into the room then and they both look over at him, Magnus with a fond smile and Isabelle with a laugh. They may have a lot of things in common, but Alec will always be the first.


End file.
